Commentarium

Beethoven was right; music is humanity's gift to
itself. Everyone who listens to music wants to feel
immediately connected to the music emotionally. Music
doesn't teach anyone anything, you teach yourself by
listening to music. Your mass takes the listener
instantly to that place where the words of the mass
come to life and have real meaning. Just as all the
great works of liturgical music are humble expressions
of the text so it is with your music; it brings the
power of the words to life and glorifies the human
spirit. To say nothing of how rare it is to have such
a sincere expression of music in today's world of
dross and mindless repetition.

— Hunter Murtagh, advertising music director

Knowing Tom McFaul as a master craftsman of the
catchy, concise, pop jingle, it was a complete
revelation for me to hear his brilliant and compelling
Mass in C minor. This work makes an
invaluable contribution to the worlds of liturgical
music and serious composition. Bravo Thomas G. McFaul!

— Alan MenkenOscar-winning composer

Your Mass in C minor might not have an
easy time at rock radio, but nevertheless you
persisted and have produced a great work.

The site is very nice. I especially enjoyed the
gardening part. Gardening is, I realize, superior to
music in a number of ways.

It never lulls you into believing that there is
a possiblility of making a living from it.

Gardening is never too loud. It is rare to find
a drummer in a garden.

In gardening, unlike the record biz, it is legal
to attempt to exterminate the pests.

— Tony Levin, bassist

Tom McFaul's Mass in C minor is a
gorgeous piece of work; beautifully conceived and
impeccably executed. Tom — how did you do it?

— Paul ShafferMusic Director, CBS Orchestra

Tom McFaul's Mass in C minor is a
profoundly moving homage to the baroque. It is filled
with resplendent choruses, brilliant virtuoso
counterpoint, and deeply felt emotion and religiosity.
It should have a long and continued life in
performances by both professional and amateur groups,
presented either in its entirety or as selections from
its variety of wonderful movements.

— Maury Yestoncomposer and lyricist

Thomas McFaul's Mass in C minor is
baroque-like in its musical style and traditional
harmonies, while being original with colors of textual
interpretation and turns of phrases. Listening to this
wonderful Mass is inspirational and refreshing because
the great texts come alive, thanks to beautiful
orchestral playing and glorious singing.

— Robert Duerr, conductor

I, too, was not sure what I was going to do on
September 11. Ended up going to work after watching
the morning ceremonies.

That night, I removed myself into the realm of your
Mass. The ancient foundations in your music, the
adoration expressed in it, offered me a portal into
reverent space. Let me tell you, it is a wonderful
thing to listen to your music as one who is musically
uninformed. It is spirit feeding to personally respond
to its beauty. Your work transported me to where my
heart needed to be on the evening of September 11.

This I know: the Mass comforted me with its
exploration of what I perceive to be the human
spirit's essential yearning for infinite mystery. I
listened to the Mass alone, as I wanted to do, but its
mystery caused me to recognize that I yearn for
spiritual relief as countless others do. From that
perspective, the Mass reminded me that I am part of a
world community. Very comforting, especially on a day
when ceremony tested the strength of collective,
emotional scar tissue formed since September 11, 2001.

— Mike, a Connecticut dirt farmer
with leanings toward jam planting

Thank you for the link to your friend's site. I'm
listening to the Gloria as I write this.
Beautiful. I'm going to order the CD. (Also by
coincidence I just finished a Deborah Crombie mystery
set in Glastonbury, in which it turned out —
according to Crombie's theory — that the Holy
Grail was actually a transcendent state monks achieved
by singing a particular kind of sacred music. Tom's
music makes me think this is indeed possible.

— Anonymous

What I expected to be a short trip through familiar
territory, turned into a journey I wanted to linger
upon. To begin, I love the fact that you have so many
great links included. I would have to return many
times to run out of tangents to explore. I adore the
personal flavor that permeates all the page names,
lists and other commentary around the site. May i also
add a few questions to your answers posted there:

Who are the members of the Bogmoor Chamber Orchestra?

Who was the lead vocalist of the pussies?

(And in my ignorance) What is an objet trouvée?

And ... the photo gallery is exquisite! I wanted to
crawl in beside the Buddha, gaze out interminably from
the room with a view, sit sipping a julep
surreptitiously listening to the singing blues
(hopefully perched on Julian's swing), all on a
morning glorious! Oh, and on this eve of Yom Kippur, I
can't help thinking that your post and lintel
structure more closely resembles 'chai' henge —
but indeed, the Celts are there. Well Tom, I hope this
has addressed any of the questions you may have been
harboring. I await the future seasonal views.